Old Man Logan Time Travels to Iconic Wolverine Moments for Lemire’s Final Story Arc

Writer Jeff Lemire will be departing the ongoing Marvel Comics series Old Man Logan with Issue #24. His final story arc, with artist Eric Nguyen, will be titled “Past Lives” and will see Old Man Logan thrown back in time and be forced to relive some of the most traumatic and iconic Wolverine moments as he tries to make his way back to the present.

“For me, a large part of writing Old Man Logan has been about taking old Wolverine tropes and stories and then seeing those again but through the lens of Old Man Logan instead, with the different perspective he brings,” Lemire told us in an email interview. “The other big part of the series has been the ‘man out of time’ aspect of Logan struggling with what may or may not be his apocalyptic future. So this story was really about taking both of those things and combining them into one last big story that brings everything I have done in the series full circle.”

Originally, Old Man Logan was a mini-series by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven that took place in a future where all of the heroes are dead, the world is ruled by various villains, and Wolverine lives in exile with a family and has gray hair and a failing healing factor. As part of 2015’s Secret Wars, the world of Old Man Logan, now called the Wastelands, was made part of Battleworld, and a new mini-series by Brian Michael Bendis and Andrea Sorrentino saw Logan exploring the patchwork nature of Battleworld and eventually find himself in the remade Marvel Universe in the present.

That’s where Lemire joined, launching an ongoing Old Man Logan series, with his former Green Arrow partner Sorrentino remaining on art duties. Their story saw Logan trying to understand this strange yet familiar world that looks like his past but with key changes -- like Avalanche being dead and Thor being a woman. His goal was to hunt down and kill those responsible for his hellish future to ensure that it never happens. As the story unfolds, we see flashes of his terrible future and witness key moments of the world falling to the villains that were only hinted at in the original story.

"Past Lives" will revisit Logan in the 1800s as a young mutant, his first comic appearance when he fought the Hulk and Wendigo, and his time as the superhero Wolverine with the X-Men. While Sorrentino is no longer drawing interiors, he is still doing covers for the series. Here are the four covers for each chapter of the “Past Lives” story arc that will end Lemire’s run.

Old Man Logan #21 cover by Andrea Sorrentino. (Marvel Comics)

Old Man Logan #22 cover by Andrea Sorrentino. (Marvel Comics)

Old Man Logan #23 cover by Andrea Sorrentino. (Marvel Comics)

Old Man Logan #24 cover by Andrea Sorrentino. (Marvel Comics)

“Everyone loves Wolverine vs. Hulk,” Lemire said when asked about what made him select those specific moments in Logan’s long comic book history. “For me, I needed to find ways in all of these stories to honor the original story but also do something new with it without altering Marvel history. That was a bit tricky, but I think I managed to pull it off.”

Longtime comic readers will find this type of story familiar, as both Captain America and Batman essentially went through the same kind of time-jumping ordeal when they “died” and returned about 10 years ago. But Lemire says he actually never read either story.

The final arc will be drawn by newcomer Eric Nguyen.

“I have good luck working with artist’s named Nguyen,” Lemire said, referring to the artist of his creator-owned series Descender, Dustin Nguyen. “He’s great, I’ve been a fan of his work for a while, so I’m very excited to see Eric bring his unique style to all these different eras of Wolverine’s past.”

Check out some uncolored pages by Nguyen.

Interior Old Man Logan #21 art by Eric Nguyen. (Marvel Comics)

Interior Old Man Logan #21 art by Eric Nguyen. (Marvel Comics)

Interior Old Man Logan #21 art by Eric Nguyen. (Marvel Comics)

After Lemire, the series will continue with a new creative team starting with Old Man Logan #25.

Here’s your first look at the solicitation info for Old Man Logan #21 and #22.

OLD MAN LOGAN #21

Written by Jeff Lemire

Penciled by Eric Nguyen

Cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO

THE EPIC “PAST LIVES” SAGA BEGINS HERE!

-AN INSTANT CLASSIC FOR THE CRITALLY ACCLAIMED SERIES! Follow LOGAN through the ages — in the 1800s as a young mutant, to his first encounter with the HULK, to his stint with the X-MEN as WOLVERINE — it’s all here!

-OLD MAN LOGAN is accidentally sent spiraling through his own past, forced to relive some of his most tragic and intense moments.

-Will he be able to free himself from these living memories? And will he ever return to the WASTELANDS and the young baby Hulk he left behind?

32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99

OLD MAN LOGAN #22

Written by Jeff Lemire

Penciled by Eric Nguyen

Cover by Andrea Sorrentino

HULK SMASH, OLD MAN LOGAN SNIKT

-It’s LOGAN versus a WENDIGO and THE HULK — all over again!

-And as he continues his journey through his own past, Logan is forced to relive an especially poignant and painful moment from his past…

-…Will he try to change the outcome to save a person he loves more than anyone else?

32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.